


Isn't it too cold for stargazing?

by DramaticalHearts (kusokawaii)



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Cuddling & Snuggling, Discord: The Kingdom of Shipping (Dr. STONE), First Crush, Fluff, M/M, Sharing Body Heat, Stargazing, TKSevents, TKSloveweekend2021, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:08:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29361540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kusokawaii/pseuds/DramaticalHearts
Summary: Xeno's parents have left him home alone for the week, but his next-door neighbor Stanley is never too far away. Lucky for him, because in his rush to catch sight of a faraway galaxy, Xeno might've forgotten something important...[Stanley and Xeno, when they were 11][For TKS's Love Weekend day 1 prompt, "Wishes"!]
Relationships: Stanley Snyder/Dr. Xeno
Kudos: 19
Collections: TKS Love/Valentine's Weekend 2021





	Isn't it too cold for stargazing?

One cold early February night, Stanley comes over to visit Xeno. Xeno's parents are out of town for the week, but they were next-door neighbors with Stanley's family, and Xeno was a smart and mature young man, so they felt secure in leaving him home alone.

It's a particularly cold night, and when Stanley doesn't find Xeno inside the house, and sees his coat left behind, he starts to worry.

He puts his too-big winter coat (borrowed from his father) back on, and goes outside. His first destination is the backyard, knowing that if Xeno were anywhere, he's likely to be in his favorite stargazing spot.

Lo and behold, Stanley spots Xeno, standing by his telescope, the warmest bit of clothing on him a wool hat gifted by his mother.

Stanley stomps over, the frozen grass and leftover bits of snow crunching under his boots.

"Xeno, come inside."

Xeno looks over, and his teeth chatter as he replies.

"But Ursa Major-"

"You're gonna have _frostbite_ major if you don't come in." Stanley frowns, coming to stand beside Xeno. "Why aren't you wearing a coat?"

"I... forgot it..." Xeno says sheepishly. "I thought I wouldn't need it... it got colder than I expected."

"Didn't you check the weather forecast?!"

"No..."

Stanley watches Xeno shivering in place, and sighs. "C'mere."

He opens his coat, and after a moment's hesitation, Xeno comes closer, letting himself be wrapped in Stanley's coat.

It's so _warm._ Xeno sighs in relief, snuggling closer to Stanley without thinking. The boy's growth spurt had arrived before his own, leaving Stanley a whole head taller than Xeno and grown out of his old winter coat. This one smelled of the tobacco Stanley's father smoked... but Xeno could detect Stanley's scent there too.

“I thought you were smarter than that. You’re such a kid,” Stanley chuckles, pulling Xeno closer with his arm.

_“You’re_ a kid too,” Xeno pouts.

“I don’t go around talkin’ like a know-it-all and forgettin’ to wear a coat in fourteen-degree weather,” Xeno can hear the playful smirk in his voice, before he felt a hand rubbing at his head. “Nerd.”

Resting his head on his friend's chest, Xeno could hear a fast heartbeat.

"...Were you worried about me?" he asks in a small voice.

"...'Course I was. Thought I was gonna find your frozen body out here."

"It hasn't been _that_ long."

"You feel like ice," Stanley rebuts, taking Xeno's hand and holding it in his own, rubbing it in an attempt to warm it. Xeno's face reddens at the contact, at the feeling of Stanley's larger, warmer hand on his own.

"What were you trying to look at, anyway?"

"NGC 2403."

"Wha?"

"It's a spiral galaxy, in the constellation Camelopardalis, near the nose of Ursa Major. It's easier to see tonight."

"Well, did you see it?"

"By the time I located it, I couldn't stop shivering..."

Stanley sighs. "Alright, hold on."

He walks toward the telescope, Xeno shuffling forward with him, pulling Stanley’s coat tighter around himself.

"Okay, can you see it like this?" Stanley asks, trying not to bump the telescope out of its position (Xeno had scolded him enough times for that by now to avoid it by instinct).

Xeno leans forward to peer into the lens. A smile breaks out on his face. "Yes! Oh Stan, you've gotta see this. It's so... elegant!"

"Uh huh," Stanley says, but peers into the telescope regardless. "Oh... that _is_ pretty cool."

"Right?! It's so bright and beautiful."

"Still not worth freezing to death for."

“Yeah… I know.”

“Alright, _now_ will you come in?”

“Yes, yes… after we dismantle my telescope.”

“Can’t we just leave it?” Stanley groans.

“No! The raccoons might knock it over!”

“Fine…”

As Stanley carefully dismantled the telescope according to Xeno’s direction, Xeno nestled closer to Stanley, his friend not seeming to mind the close contact. He _was_ cold, but also… being close to him like this made him feel happy, somehow.

In fact, lately Xeno had been desiring a closeness with his friend that was unlike anything he felt for his other friends or peers… wanting to touch him, smell his clothes, even keeping small items he’d leave behind at his house. It was _weird,_ he knew it was… but he couldn’t get enough.

_I wonder why that is…_ he would think. _Maybe that’s just what having a best friend is like?_

All the same, he didn’t know how Stanley would react, if he knew… so it was his own little secret. But when fate threw him an opportunity like this one, he couldn’t help but indulge.

He had only been friends with Stanley for a year, but Xeno couldn’t imagine his life without him in it. So, he hoped that even if the truth came out… that Stanley would still want to be his friend.

“Okay, is that it? Anything else?” Stanley says after finishing taking down the telescope and putting it in its case.

“Mm, nope, that’s it,” Xeno replies, his voice slightly muffled.

“Heh, you’re gettin’ cozy in there,” Stanley laughs.

Xeno blushes again. “It’s a nice coat…”

“Yeah. Not bad for it being my old man’s.”

“And you’re really warm, too…”

“Well I won’t be for much longer,” Stanley quips. “Let’s go in.”

“Okay.” Xeno lifts his head out of the coat to look up at him. “Sleepover tonight?”

“Hell yeah. That’s what I came over for,” Stanley grins.

Xeno smiles back. “I’m glad you came.”

“Yeah, what would you do without me?”

“I would’ve gone in eventually-” From the edge of Xeno’s vision, he spots a small bright light streaking across the night sky. “Ooh!”

“What?”

“I saw a shooting star!”

“Heh, cool.”

“It was!” Xeno beams. “They’re not really stars, you know. They’re small meteoroids that hit the Earth’s atmosphere, and the air friction they meet causes them to melt, vaporize or explode… making the streak you see.”

“Okay now _that’s_ cool.”

“Right?” Xeno giggles.

Xeno watched the sky as they walked back to his house together. _Wishing on a shooting star isn’t very scientific… but…_

He rests his head on Stanley’s chest again, softly smiling as he feels his warmth, listening to his breaths and heartbeat.

_I hope we’ll be friends forever…_

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by the cold and snowy weather I've been seeing here at home lately, and a passing thought of going outside briefly to look at the stars one night. _"It's way too cold for stargazing,"_ I thought to myself. But then I thought, would kid Xeno go out in too-cold weather to stargaze? Absolutely.  
> I came up with the Ursa Major joke before I did my research - luckily a recent astronomical event happened to match up perfectly! [More info here](https://astronomy.com/news/observing/2021/02/the-sky-this-week-from-february-5-to-12), and here's [a picture of the NGC 2403 galaxy](https://astronomy.com/-/media/Images/Photo%20of%20Day/Large%20Images/2019/01/APOD20190130.jpg). It's pretty.  
> And, I love the thought of them having a height difference at least at _one_ point in their lives. I headcanon that Stanley's birthday is in the spring, and Xeno's in the fall or winter, so for most of the year, Stan's older than him. Stanley probably said "I'll keep [x age] warm for ya" as they grew up~
> 
> Feel free to join the Dr. Stone shipping server on Discord! All ships are welcome! We have lots of events scheduled, RP our fav ships, share headcanons, fanart, fic and more! [Click here to join us~!](https://discord.gg/N7ejy2W)


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